Security: Old Threats, New Threats

Becoming distracted by shimmering transformations is surprisingly easy in a country like Indonesia where national development is an imperative. Front-page stories from 2015 have told us that transformations are happening all around usfrom democratic consolidation at the regional level to disquieting new trends in violent crime. But such changes, as refreshing as they may be, do not come close to representing the big picture.

Take for instance the violent begal robbery phenomenon that made the headlines early last year. The incidents caused hysteria among residents of Greater Jakarta, stoked both by a sharp increase in sensationalist media reporting of such crimes and dramatic accounts spread by word-of-mouth and social media.